TABLE TOP STYLE

 PREP To prepare for tomorrow's practical work of filming an opening sequence, please watch the following two title sequences which are filmed in in a similar 'table top' style. 

• Delicatessen (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)
• To Kill A Mockingbird ( dir. Robert Mulligan,1962)
• Extension work: there are many other opening sequences on the website Art of the Title

For each title sequence, write three sentences about how the conventions of film openings are used. 

The title of your prep blog post is FILM OPENING CONVENTIONS

Copy /paste the lines above and add the two images below : 

• what titles and credits appear on screen?
• how is the film's genre conveyed? 
• what use is made of sound?
• what hooks the audience and makes us want to carry on watching?

Delicatessen:

The first title to appear on screen is the name of the programme, following that is the credits of the people who produced the film. The directors' name and many others are listed on sheets paper on the table. We can tell its crime and comedy horror because at the beginning of the opening someone is getting stabbed getting. There is also a camera on the table which could be used fir taking photos of evidence which suggest crime. The sudden sound of trumpets makes the audience feels tense because it almost make them jump and the eerie sound of creaking makes us feel uneasy. The audience is hooked by the murder that has no context and we are curious to find out more as to who was murdered and why.

To kill a mocking bird:

Unlike Delicatessen, the first title to come on screen is the name of the company that produced the programme which is Universal international and the name of the producer. We can tell its a coming of age story because the opening shows a child drawing and humming. The ticking of the clock on the table could show the passage of time or the sound of heartbeat. At the start we are hocked by the slow writing , we have to wait for the title to be finished.